I grew up in a house built in 1701 in Boston. We found an old well under slabs of cement in the first floor of the barn. The well was full to the top with old china, medicine bottle, tools, shoes - you name it - all from the 1800s. Not every item was still intact - some of the china was broken. It was fascinating! The down-side was that I was a little girl at the time and my parents didn't really know what to do with our discovery. Most of the items were tossed out and some was left behind for new homeowners when we eventually moved away years later. If only I could go back in time and save those items...UGH! What a shame!

nanny, the closet across from the washer and dryer in my laundry room had smelled 'steamy' to me since buying this house in 2012. Not mildew, or damp, but somehow steamy when I'd been doing laundry. I'm so fortunate to have this house, it was built in 1955 with no expense spared and solid, sound. But the dryer venting ending at the sidewalk near my patio bothered me and I asked the heating/cooling guy when doing regular check of my heat system if he would consider doing new venting for me....since I knew they did heat/air ductwork. Probably wasn't the cheapest way to go (in fact, I'd say very expensive), but now I have a continuous stainless run of 18' and no more steamy utility closet odor. I think too my clothes are drying faster, my dryer was installed new as we moved in so I had nothing to compare its function to. He was horrified at what he took out (likely original to 1955), I don't know how any air was moving through it at all, a fire waiting to begin probably. I asked him what I needed to do to maintain the new and he said nothing in your lifetime.

It is very pretty But they had totally different space to work with. They went with minimum uppers and lots of open shelving. They have tons of light coming in. Different textures. Contrasts. Lots of white. Metallics. Architectural details, bigger space, what not. Just their hood would take precious space in your kitchen. Looks huge.. They deal with different size room there, and they have other things going on making it much easier What I do wholeheartedly agree with-black would look smashing with your floors(also most blues, and certain grays. Whites, I can envision less, at least not whites-whites) If you're ready, or can afford, to loose much of your upper storage, then you'll be closer to your inspiration. The more light you can get in the better. Etcetera. Your kitchen is not gross by the way, it's just normal. While theirs is like, wow, what a space. But they had that space. Or opportunity to build it. I like your dining room. I'd take whatever elements make sense in your kitchen, and if it's black, let it be black, but it will demand all these things going on-expances of more open spaces, lots of light materials next to it, all the shebang but on much smaller scale. In any case it's exciting. I had two inspiration pics myself..I mean the ones that really got to me because I collected tons of very different images. My kitchen looks like neither of them lol, but I did a steal a color(an idea of color) from one of them because I was smitten. I looked at it constantly like I was drinking that color. Couldn't get enough of it. I was smitten with the other too but it wouldn't work in my space. I still think about it of course. Very warm, bold, careless, rustic feel..

Yes, the blocked vent is in this bathroom. WHY WOULD ANYONE IN WISCONSIN TILE A BATHROOM AND COVER THE HEAT SOURCE? Good grief. I washed part of a wall and got the paste off easily with vinegar and tea tree oil, the mold appears about 50% lighter. With no trim, floor or fixtures, it seems a good time to just tear out the drywall. At least I can raise the light fixture to an appropriate height and get rid of the recessed t.p. holder too. Maybe add sound insulation. So much for a mini reno.